The Path to Twilight
by The Diaries Guild
Summary: About twenty years after Kingdom Hearts Origins, a displaced superhero and the son of the Keybearer must follow their own road to defeat the Heartless. Set about 360 years before KH1.
1. Chapter 1

A young man walked away from the fortress of Radiant Garden, holding a key-like sword at his side. The General impassively watched him leave, not caring one way or another what happened to him. It didn't matter to Kaze II. He had a job to do, and that was more important than anything else in the multiverse—even more so than love of friends and hatred of enemies.

Kaze knew love, but he knew hate much more intimately.

Kaze loved his mother, and she had loved him, but as far as love went, that was all he truly felt.

Kaze hated his father, also named Kaze. He hated that his father was a hero. He hated that his father was a great wizard and sword fighter. He hated that his father wielded the Keyblade and, as such, was hailed by dozens of worlds as a savior. The reason he hated that was because before his mother even knew that she was carrying him, his father had to go and kill himself fighting the Heartless' god. He hated that his father gave up the fight and let himself be consumed by the darkness, leaving his mother to forever grieve his loss.

Kaze hated and loved his teacher and mentor, his Uncle Nanaki, at the same time. The red beast was kind to him, cared for him, and taught him how to use his offensive magic, but Nanaki had fought alongside his father during his adventures. His praise was always, "You look just like your father" or "Your father couldn't have done this better" or "You sound just like your father when you say that." And, of everyone in the world, there was no one Kaze less wanted to be than his father.

Kaze hated his commander, General Tsuchi. Tsuchi had fallen in love with Kaze's mother, but Kaze's father won her heart. And, as long as she held on to her lover's memory, Tsuchi could never have her. The general took that out on Kaze ever since he entered Tsuchi's army. Tsuchi hated Kaze Sr. and as such hated his son equally, and the feeling was more than mutual.

When his mother was buried, he took one of the few Gummi ships left and headed for another world. None of his attempts to find a place bore fruit. All of them knew his father, and, as such, he couldn't stay there without sharing space with his father's memory.

And, of course, there was the fact that, despite everyone's claims that his father's actions had brought them into decline, the Heartless were still present in force.

And, more so than even his father, Kaze hated the Heartless.

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The Path to Twilight

By Akino Ame and Ryan Griffin

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Square Enix. Batman Beyond belongs to Warner Bros. Akino owns Bruce McGinnis; Ryan owns Kaze II.

Continuity: What continuity? Part of the Kingdom Hearts Origins universe (Ryan's), not strictly canon for the Brick Ballads universe (Akino's). At this rate, AU for Kingdom Hearts canon.

Note: This **will** have spoilers for the as-yet unfinished Kingdom Hearts Origins, and maybe for Kingdom Hearts II. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Chapter One: Summon the Heroes

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There was a general consensus among the McGinnis children that if they were ever going to slip past their parents, they had to display skills in stealth on par with their father's. If they wanted to get past each other, however, they had to be far better. They had to be the culmination of seventeen years of training with some of the greatest superheroes the world had ever seen. Whoever tried to get past a younger McGinnis would have to be Batman. Fortunately for Bruce Warren McGinnis, he was.

He pulled the mask over his head and activated the stealth mode before carefully stepping out into the hall. His parents were still at work, so the only ones he had to worry about were his younger sister and brother, Rena and Vincent. Vincent's door was wide open, his room a mess, his homework abandoned, and his soccer ball missing. As long as he was outside, there was nothing to worry about. Bruce turned his attention to his sister's room. The door was closed, so it wasn't as easy to tell if she was busy. Quietly, he stood against the wall and placed two fingers on her door. The audio receptors picked up her side of a phone conversation:

"So what about you and James?" Rena asked. There was a gasp and then, "Seriously? Lynn, he really said that?" Despite himself, Bruce grinned. He doubted Uncle Matt knew his daughter was that serious with Barbara Gordon's great-grandson. No, Rena wouldn't be a problem; she was too caught up in her and her cousin's love lives to notice.

He walked to the old grandfather clock and opened the tunnel to the Batcave. But as he made his way down the stairs, he heard panting and shouting. He tensed and let a batarang drop into his hand. If this was an intruder, they'd be in for trouble.

He ran down, prepared to throw the batarang, but he pulled himself back when he saw it was only Vincent training with the androids. Vincent, however, didn't, and threw two batarangs in Bruce's direction. He ducked out of the way and nearly landed on the soccer ball left on the floor, completely caught off-guard by his little brother's skill. He did not know the fourteen-year-old was capable of this.

Vincent shut off the android and readied another batarang before Bruce deactivated the invisibility. "Oh, it's just you."

"What are you doing?" Bruce questioned.

"What does it look like?" Vincent asked, wiping his forehead. "I'm training."

"Training for what?"

"For that," he answered, pointing at the red bat emblazoned on Bruce's chest. "It's just the same as Uncle Matt did—if you can't fight, I'll have to take over. Akira-sensei's helped me with my training."

"Why do you think you'll need to fight?"

"You've heard Mom and Dad," Vincent replied, his brown eyes unusually hard. "They know you're pushing yourself too hard. Even Uncle Matt's tried talking to you after the Ronin thing, and he can't get through to you. Dad's thinking about taking you off the streets since you can't handle it, and I know I've got to be ready to take over when I'm old enough."

"I _can_ handle it," Bruce protested, but Vincent snorted.

"Yeah, right. Tell that to Dad. Even Grandpa Bruce would have pulled you off."

"Dad won't."

"He will," promised Rena from behind.

"I thought you were on the phone," Bruce commented.

"I told Lynn I'd call her back," Rena answered. "You have to stop doing this to yourself. You know it's not helping. You just put Dad, Uncle Matt, and Grandpa Bruce on too high a pedestal, and you think you've got to live up to it. Didn't Uncle Matt tell you to find your own path?"

"Well, what if this is the path I choose?" His younger siblings gave him cynical looks. He was only saved by the voice of Green Lantern Kai-ro over the radio:

_"Green Lantern to Batman, report to Metropolis. We have a situation."_

"I'm on my way," Bruce answered. Looking back at his brother and sister, he said, "I got a call. I have to go. Tell Mom and Dad where I went."

"Fine," Vincent replied, kicking his soccer ball after him as he left.

Bruce sped on his way to Kai's coordinates, never so happy to leave his sister and brother. They'd been on his case for weeks, ever since he'd lost that battle against the rogue samurai, Ronin. Two civilians had been injured in the battle, and Ronin had escaped. Uncle Matt, the police commissioner, had tried to assure him that his mistakes in fighting were all right and that he needed to stop overworking himself in trying to be the best—but "tried," unfortunately, was the key word there. Uncle Matt's words were hardly reassuring, and Bruce left without understanding anything he'd tried to say. And Vincent and Rena were no help either, constantly pulling things like this. He knew that he was a bit of a perfectionist, but what was wrong with that? As the fourth Batman and third "Batman Beyond," he had a lot to live up to, so why shouldn't he try to make his predecessors proud?

His thoughts were cut off by a smoking crater in the middle of Metropolis, dangerously close to the Metro Tower. He quickly jumped to the ground and joined the rest of his team at the site. Kai was scanning the wreckage with his ring, and Polaris and Dusk were on crowd control. Apparently, they'd been the only ones on duty.

"Is everything okay?" Bruce checked.

"Batman, I'm glad you're here," Kai answered. "Polaris and Dusk have crowd control covered, but I need your help. Everyone else is busy with the crisis in Chong-Mai."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I'm having a hard time getting any readings. Something crashed, and I want to see if there are any survivors."

"I'm on it," Bruce answered, switching to an ultraviolet filter in his mask. He could see the ship that had crashed—a small, odd spacecraft of some kind—but he couldn't see any pilot or anything. There weren't even bodies of bystanders. "That's strange. There were people around; there should be bodies or survivors."

"I don't like this," Kai commented, pulling Bruce back. "Don't get any closer."

Suddenly, a small black creature leapt out of the crater and landed in front of them. It stared at them with yellow eyes, its antennae twitching. Several more jumped out of the crater as well, and Bruce switched through all the different filters in his mask. Not a single one registered these odd creatures. He was tempted to suggest that perhaps they were illusions when they attacked.

The little shadow creatures were ferocious, with sharp claws that gave Bruce a freezing sensation every time they scratched him. His suit never tore, but it didn't matter. Those things seemed to breach right through to his soul. He felt weaker and weaker the more he fought them.

The civilians had fled in a panic, but it didn't deter the Shadows. They took chase, even while the JLU fought back. Kai blasted one with a particularly strong beam from his ring, causing the Shadow to explode into small green energy spheres. Turning to the others, Kai shouted, "They're strong, but their defense is weak! Hit them as hard as you can!" Bruce took that advice and took the circular blade from the center of his belt. This caused enough damage to make another Shadow explode into green spheres, which disappeared as soon as he ran through them, seemingly recovering his injuries and fatigue.

The Shadows, however, were not that easily beaten. One managed to plunge its claws into a civilian's heart. It pulled out a glowing heart-shaped object. The heart disappeared, and the civilian herself became a Shadow as well.

"That's how they multiply?" Polaris asked in horror.

"What do we do?" Dusk checked.

"There's nothing human in these Shadows," Kai answered solemnly. "We have to do whatever we can to keep the rest of these people safe." He gestured toward the green spheres, which were slowly disappearing. "Each time you destroy one, they release those spheres, along with some gold ones that look like money of some kind. Those spheres boost your recovery, so be sure to absorb them when you can." They nodded in agreement before unleashing hell on the remaining Shadows. Kai's ring beams, Polaris's blue light bolts, Dusk's staff, and Bruce's batarangs hit Shadows left and right until they were finally gone. Around a dozen people had been killed by the Shadows, but thankfully, no others had fallen.

"Damn Chong-Mai," Dusk muttered. "They had to make a mess so big that most of the League had to go take care of it."

"If the Shadows show up again, we can call Warhawk, Aquagirl, Shinobi, and some others out of retirement," Kai warned. "But I think that was the last of them. Judging by the size of that ship, the first Shadow came alone. It must have reproduced using the survivors of the crash. And if that's so, then there had to have been a large number of survivors."

"But how could anyone survive being hit by that ship?" Bruce asked. "It made a crater that large!"

Kai climbed into the crater and started inspecting the ship, carefully touching it rather than scanning with his ring. "It must have been gravity and the ship's energy that caused it. The ship itself is very soft, gummy."

"Are you sure it's safe?" Polaris questioned.

"I'm positive," Kai answered. "The Shadows were the only thing we had to worry about. I'll get this into the hangar so we can study it when everyone gets back. Maybe we can figure out where those Shadows came from."

"Looks like it'd be Apokolips," Dusk commented. Bruce had to agree with her, but Kai shook his head.

"It's not Apokolips. Barda and Orion would have mentioned something on this level. No, this is from another planet. Possibly another world entirely."

"Like the Justice Lords?" Bruce suggested, remembering his grandfather's files.

"No," Kai replied. "No, I think their Earth was destroyed with their version of the Thanagarian Invasion. Remember, the Justice Lords lost their powers, so they wouldn't have been able to fight them off. And I think we would have heard of something earlier if their world was causing trouble. I think this is a new one." He sighed. "Superman will want to know."

It didn't take very long for Kai to haul the strange ship out of the crater and into the Metro Tower's hangar. Carefully, everyone searched it for weapons and origins. Polaris searched the computer and called Kai over.

"It's the destination coordinates," he informed. "I think this ship was headed somewhere before it crash-landed on Earth."

"Good work," Kai complimented. "Now, let's transfer these coordinates over to our computers and see if we can figure out where they were headed."

But the moment his datapad connected with the ship's computer, the engines started again. A dimensional wormhole very similar to a boom tube opened and started sucking everyone in. Kai created a force field around himself, Dusk, and Polaris, but he couldn't reach Bruce in time. Batman IV fell backwards through the wormhole before hitting the ground with a thud. In front of him, the portal started to close. He got up and ran for it, but it was too late. The portal closed, leaving him in the middle of a destroyed city with more Shadows closing in.

He pulled out his blade and started slashing away at the Shadows until they exploded into green spheres and gold pieces. He was sure to absorb as many of the green ones as he could, and some gold ones he absorbed found their way into a compartment on his belt as smaller pieces of gold. He was careful to stay where he was as he fought; there was always the chance that Kai and the others would reopen the portal, and he wanted to be close when it happened. But the Shadows kept pushing him farther and farther back. They kept clawing at him, and soon even the green spheres weren't enough to keep him going. He collapsed onto his back with a Shadow on his chest.

_This is it, then,_ he realized as the Shadow plunged its claws into his heart. He felt cold all over. _I'm going to become one of them._ Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered arguing with Vincent and Rena earlier, telling him he was pushing himself too hard. Vincent was already training to be Batman if Bruce got taken off the streets—what would happen if Bruce became a Shadow? What would Vincent do then? There would be no suit and no way to prove what had happened.

_I'm sorry,_ he thought desperately as the Shadow pulled on his heart.

It all happened so fast that Bruce could barely register it. One second, the Shadow was pulling his heart out of him and his vision started to blur and darken, and the next, a black-haired boy was standing over him with a large key-like sword in his hands. Green and gold spheres entered Bruce's body, giving him enough strength to sit up.

The other boy handed him a bottle of some kind of liquid before turning around to face the Shadows. "Drink that Hi-Potion before you try anything. We're going to need a lot of strength to fight off these Heartless fuckers."

"You mean the Shadows?" Bruce asked, quickly taking a sip of the Hi-Potion. It was disgusting, but it brought back his strength. He finished it all before standing and arming himself with his blade.

"Shadows, Heartless, same difference," the boy answered. "You can thank my dear old deadbeat dad for not taking care of them when he had the chance." He swung his key and destroyed another Heartless. When it died, it released bubbles and a red-and-gold sphere with the usual gold and green spheres. "Got enough magic for a Blizzard spell, plus an Ether. We'll need a lot more, but as long as we absorb what the Heartless release, we should be okay. Think you can handle them?"

"My blade worked last time," he replied. "I just need to be sure I don't fall again."

The other boy destroyed another few Heartless before passing Bruce several bottles. "Here. Hi-Potions and a couple of Elixirs. I have a lot of them in stock."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now let's get these bastards."

Bruce and the boy fought melee-style against the Heartless, reducing the entire front line to a pile of spheres and bubbles. When his blade didn't work, Bruce threw batarangs or punched and kicked his way through. The other kid used his key and fired fire, ice, and lightning spells whenever he had the power. Between the two of them, the Heartless didn't stand a chance.

Bruce tried to catch his breath as the other boy absorbed the last of the spheres and bubbles. He suddenly cried out, "Oh, cool!" and turned to Bruce, who was about to take out a Hi-Potion. "No, wait, save that. I just learned a Cure spell." He pointed his key at Bruce and released a flash of green magic that worked just as well as the spheres and Hi-Potions. "That should have done it."

"Thanks."

"Anytime. Anyway, I'm Kaze."

"Batman."

Kaze raised an eyebrow. "You were born with that name?"

Bruce debated evading the subject, but decided against it. Hell, who would Kaze tell? It wasn't like they were from the same world. "My real name is Bruce Warren McGinnis, but that's only when I have my mask off or when a few Justice League members are around."

"Justice League?" Kaze repeated. "Never heard of them."

Bruce blinked. "Okay, this is going to be a long story, then."

"We'll trade histories on the way back to my ship," Kaze decided. "I'd take you to Radiant Garden, but I really don't want to have to put up with the people there again, so I hope you don't mind if we head to Traverse Town."

Bruce gave him an utterly lost look. "I guess that's okay…"

"Don't worry," Kaze explained. "Radiant Garden is a settlement here. It's mostly sort of a military outpost against the Heartless, since there are so many around. Traverse Town is another world."

"Another world? I thought I just got pulled through to another planet! I didn't think it was this bad!"

"Your world knows how to travel to others?"

"Well, sort of. It happened once a long time ago. Mostly we worry about interplanetary trouble."

Kaze whistled. "That's impressive that you can travel beyond your planet. So what about this Justice League of yours?"

"Well, they're a superhero organization, for lack of a better explanation."

"Ah," Kaze answered. "Okay, I've seen one of those before. I get it. So your League battles whatever threatens your world?"

"That's it exactly. My biological grandfather, Bruce Wayne, was one of the original founders. He was the first Batman. Fifty years later, my father took over. Then my uncle did for a couple of years before becoming commissioner of the police, and finally me."

"Oh, a legacy." Kaze's tone was rather blunt. Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Why? Is there a problem?"

"Not really. I just have a few issues with Kaze I—my father, even though he hardly deserves the title. Years ago, he was chosen to save the world from the Heartless, but he fell into the darkness himself. My mom, Hino, was left in Radiant Garden to learn his fate secondhand from my uncles. Because he utterly screwed up, I was chosen to clean up his mess. Damn bastard. Everyone says I'm just like him—same face, same name, same fucking Keyblade. Damn."

"It's the exact opposite with me," Bruce confessed. "Everyone says I try too hard to be like my dad. It got to the point that my uncle and my dad want me to give up. They think I'm going to get myself killed."

"Guess both of us are screwed up," Kaze admitted. He stood up. "Well, Bruce, we'd better get to Traverse Town if we're going to find any clues to where your world is. You could probably use a new weapon while we're there."

Bruce looked at his blade, which was horribly dented. Kaze's Keyblade, on the other hand, hardly looked battle-scarred. "Where am I supposed to get a new one? My grandfather created everything in the original Batman suit and taught my father how to build this one."

"We could probably synthesize," Kaze commented. "I heard the Moogles talking about it. We take some of the items we picked up, give them the right amount of munny, and they'll make just about any weapon we need."

"A circular blade with invisibility capabilities compatible with my suit?"

Kaze winced. "Maybe we'd just better see if they can fix and upgrade it."

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It was a few hours later when they were in the Gummi ship, heading for Traverse Town. Bruce was surprised at first to see that it was the same type of ship the Heartless had arrived to Metropolis in, but once he got over the initial shock, he was quickly absorbing every technical aspect about it, determined to learn how to pilot it.

"You handle this very well," Kaze said to his new shipmate, "Most of the worlds I've been to; the people are amazed that I've got a machine that can fly through the air, let alone in space."

Bruce gave out a laugh. "You should see the Batmobile. Compared to that, this is a child's toy."

Kaze rolled his eyes. "Batmobile? Do you just name everything you use 'Bat-something?'"

"I refuse to be mocked by a guy who battles with a giant key," Bruce deadpanned.

"Points to you. In any case we…" Suddenly, he checked the gauges. "Shit."

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked.

"Traverse Town will have to wait. The engine's starting to malfunction. A Heartless ship nicked me before I had to land. Looks like it did more damage than I thought..." he sighed, "And there's only one place that can service this bird…" Kaze looked incredibly dejected as he said, "We're going to have to visit the happiest place in the multiverse…"

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The Batsuit always made people give way to fear and respect. He looked like a dark apparition, a demon of sorts.

Kaze was nowhere near normal himself. Stealth had never figured into his equation, as his outfit was a bright silver jumpsuit outlined with black designs, with a gold sleeveless jacket and headband. Standing next to each other, they were as different as day and night, and, outside of a combat situation, both looked rather silly.

Silly, however, was just about the only word you could use to describe the residents of this world.

They had landed in the middle of what seemed to be a Renaissance fair populated by humanoid animals. And, oddly enough, said animals had huge eyes and oddly exaggerated features, such as their snouts or ears.

Amiably, Kaze strolled up to a blacksmith, a grizzled old goat, who warily pointed the way to through a throng of other animals. Kaze exchanged a few gold pieces, before turning to Bruce, "I never get the hang of this place… My sense of direction is terrible once I'm out of the ship."

"This is… a very strange world."

"So I've been told. Then again, where I come from, talking animals aren't uncommon, so I can't tell the difference."

As Bruce followed Kaze, he realized the boy was different in this world. Despite his earlier unwillingness to enter the world, once he was here, he seemed pleasant enough. Children in particular seemed drawn to him, and he typically gave them candy or some other trinket he had in his pocket. However, they all kept an appreciable distance from Bruce, which was made more evident when he approached Kaze and his admirers dispersed immediately.

"So, why were you anxious about coming here?" Bruce said, "You seem happy enough with these people."

"It's relative. The place tends to bring out the best in a person. Five seconds in and you feel relaxed, happier, ready to give to your fellow man… unfortunately, it's kind of a let down once you leave… plus, I'm not thrilled about what I have to do here. I hate asking Uncle Walt for help…"

"Uncle Walt?" Bruce asked.

"You'll see…" Kaze smiled forlornly.

As they walked on, they came to the gates of a huge castle. The guards, which tended to be dogs, raised their weapons at the travelers, but once Kaze lifted his Keyblade, the gates opened and the guards turned from hesitant to jubilant. A good number of them chuckled and patted Kaze on the back, as they ushered him in.

However, they all looked at Bruce with obvious disdain.

"You look like a Heartless," Kaze explained, "I know you're a human, but…"

"The mask stays on," Bruce said simply.

"I figured it would. No matter. Uncle Walt will understand…"

Passing a few corridors, Kaze approached a set of doors hundreds of feet high. He rapped on the door, and from the giant doors, a smaller door opened up. Bruce felt incredibly awkward as he followed Kaze into the room.

It was a classic throne room, enormous, with hundreds of gold and silver statues and extravagant paintings throughout the room. The largest painting, above the thrones, showed a man who looked exactly like Kaze holding a Keyblade over his head. Next to the man were a red lion-like beast and a mouse wearing a blue cape.

Said mouse, oddly enough, was sitting on the throne.

Ignoring all propriety, the mouse got up and jumped up to hug Kaze. Kaze took the hug awkwardly.

"You've grown so much over the last few years…" the mouse said wistfully, patting the boy's side before ending the hug, "How are you doing? I heard about your mother. It's a real pity."

"She left before her time…" Kaze said wistfully.

"Ah well, what's done is done. Come, where are my manners… I must provide refreshments for you and your guest…" though the mouse said this with a hint of caution.

"There's no need. This is Bruce, known as Batman, and a hero in his world. Bruce, this is King Walter of the Magic Kingdom."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, "He's your 'Uncle Walt'?"

Kaze nodded, "Got an odd set of uncles throughout the worlds. My Uncle Nanaki's up on that mural."

The puzzle pieces clicked in for Bruce, "Ah." He then genuflected towards Walt, "It's an honor to be here."

"Oh, bother that," Walt swatted Bruce's knee and gestured that he get up, "I'm not YOUR king, any more than you're my hero. Different worlds and all that. You're a friend of Kaze's… how did you meet anyway?"

"He is lost, gone from his world. I'm attempting to bring him back," Kaze said.

"Oh my. I'll get Fauntleroy from the library. He should have some star charts available. Don't worry, if we've heard of your world, we'll be able to get you back."

"Thanks," Bruce said. "And if you can't?"

Walt sighed, "I honestly don't know." He shook his head. "I hate being King. I'm expected to know everything, especially given all that I've seen. People think that just since you've been to the dark heart of the universe and back that you know everything!" Kaze clenched his fists at that.

"Anything else you need?" Walt asked.

"My ship's engine is malfunctioning. Some maintenance would be nice…"

"Oh, don't you worry! I'll have a team on it immediately. Don't you worry! In the meantime, make yourselves at home. I'll have rooms made up and food sent right away! I'll have to get Fauntleroy, that old duck's got his finger on the pulse of the universe more than anyone…"

Kaze nodded as he turned and left the room. Bruce went to follow him, but King Walt nudged him.

"Listen, I have to ask you something…"

"Go ahead…"

"I trust Kaze, so I'm sure you're really a hero... but why would a hero dress in black with the visage of a bat?"

Bruce smiled. "Because criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot…"

King Walt let out a laugh at that, before scurrying off to find his scholar. Bruce turned and went to find the Keybearer.


	2. Chapter 2

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The Path to Twilight

By Akino Ame and Ryan Griffin

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Square Enix. Batman Beyond belongs to DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Chapter Two: Sins of the Father

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There were a lot of things Bruce was expecting to find upon leaving the throne room. He expected to see Kaze somewhere in the vicinity, sulking or fuming or something. He didn't expect Kaze to be nowhere in sight.

Suddenly, a noise caught his attention. Using the scanners in his cowl, he was able to pinpoint it and track its source. Bruce activated the rockets on his boots and flew off towards the source.

The noise grew, translating into clashes of steel and the grunts and yells of a fight. He saw an expansive courtyard and, in the middle of it, a fight. There was a large group of various types of animals, from bulls and horses all the way down to the mice, all surrounding Kaze, who was fighting them single-handedly with his Keyblade. Bruce boggled, wondering what could have happened that would cause them to turn on the boy.

Kaze did mention that he looked like a Heartless… maybe the people thought that Kaze had betrayed them.

Realizing in an instant that action would be better than wondering, Bruce literally flew into the middle of the fray, landing among the dumbfounded creatures beside Kaze.

"Figured you could use some help," Bruce said.

"Glad for it!" Kaze gave a thumbs-up.

And with a yell, Kaze ran at a large, ax-carrying bull while Bruce jumped up and kicked a ram into a nearby column. The fight became a blur as the two young men beat the bulls with their axes, the horses with their maces, the mice with their swords, the dogs with their shields, the ducks with their staffs and magic. Soon, all that was left was a single mouse, decked in amazing armor and wielding a glowing sword. Despite his armor, his agility was enough to dodge any and all of Kaze's spells and Bruce's batarangs, and his strength was enough to make close combat an impossibility.

Sweating, Bruce ran through several possibilities to counter the damn mouse, before hitting upon one. Taking several discs from his belt, and threw them towards the mouse in succession. Predictably, the mouse dodged or deflected the discs, but that was enough. Flying above the mouse, Bruce yelled, "Kaze, hit me with a lightning spell! As much as you can pump into it!"

Kaze stuttered, "What the-! Are you high!"

"Just do it!" Bruce yelled.

His authoritative tone was enough for Kaze to stop any questioning. Raising the Keyblade to the sky, a lightning bolt shot down to Bruce. Luckily, after some upgrades over the years, the suit was a lightning rod. As the lightning continued to flow, Bruce pressed a button on his belt, and the discs in turn, each glowed and produced an electrical charge. Suddenly, the mouse was surrounded by a giant cage of electricity, before the fields closed in, electrocuting him. Smoking slightly, the mouse fell to the ground.

And Kaze defied all logic by running across the field to the mouse, taking out an Elixir and reviving the mouse.

Coughing, the mouse patted Kaze on the back. Kaze smiled, which then faded as he approached Bruce, who was looking perplexed at this whole exchange.

"Merciful Harry Potter, Bruce! You DO realize that was a training session, right?"

"Training session? What the…"

Kaze sighed, though he looked less angry, "You thought they were really attacking me, so you jumped in. I appreciate the sentiment, and I'm glad for this to happen if it were real, but in this case, I can't have you incinerating members of the royal family…"

The mouse, looking much better after the Elixir, walked up to the two and said, "Damn, that was one heckuva battle. Though, Kaze, you'd better tell your friend he needs to calm down. That combined lightning attack almost made Diane first in line for the throne…"

Kaze nodded, "Roy, Batman, hero of Gotham City. Batman, Roy, Prince of Disney Castle."

Batman looked shocked, "Oh my, I'm sorry."

Roy laughed, "The only ones I'd be sorry for is anyone that has to fight the two of you to the death…" and with that, he gathered some of the troops and managed to rouse them. Kaze, in the meantime, stalked off.

Bruce attempted to help some of the fallen soldiers, but all refused him. And, rather than stand around like an idiot, he followed Kaze.

"Listen, I…" before Bruce could answer, Kaze raised his hand in a "stop" gesture.

"Don't worry about it, Bruce. I can't fault you for trying to help me. What did make you think my life was at stake, anyway?"

"Mostly the looks everyone gave me here. Figured maybe they thought you'd fallen in league with a demon or something."

"Just because this is a kingdom, it doesn't mean the peasants are wielding torches and pitchforks…" Kaze sighed, "Still, the sooner we can get out of here, the better."

"I'd have thought that you'd like this place. You're practically a celebrity."

"I'm living in my father's shadow, which is the last place I want to be."

Bruce wanted to say that the references to his father were minimal, that a lot of the comparisons that seemed to rub Kaze the wrong way were nothing to be concerned about, or possibly were even imagined. But, instead, Bruce said, "Why do you hate him so much?"

"He left my mother and me, left her to languish until she worried herself into an early grave. Why shouldn't I hate him?"

"From what I was able to glean from your ranting, it sounds like he died trying to save the world. I've known a lot of people who were lost like that. You can't blame him because he died."

Kaze stared at him, then said, "Come on. I'll show you…"

With that, Kaze walked through a few long series of corridors before reaching a gigantic vault.

"Let's see if Uncle Walt changed his password…" with that, he yelled, "Door to the light!" and the vault, in response, slowly opened, "Guess not…" and with that he walked in.

Bruce's father was the inheritor of WayneTech, one of the most advanced and profitable companies on the planet. And, as such, Bruce and a large number of his descendants could live decent lives without working a single day.

Inside the vault, however, were enough riches to make him gasp audibly. Kaze paid it no mind, and simply walked past the piles of gold and silver and priceless artifacts to a door at the very end of the vault. Kaze placed his Keyblade at the door and, in response, it opened. The room was small, and all that was inside it was a pedestal, upon which sat a ring of glowing green orbs.

"What are they?" Bruce asked.

"Memory stones. It's an extremely rare magical item. It records a person's memory exactly, when placed in the correct setting. What's really good about them is that the inherent magic plays the events as they truly happened, without any of the mistakes that are inherent when someone recalls something."

Bruce was immediately reminded of a classic children's book he had read when he was young. "So, they're kind of like Pensieves."

Kaze shrugged, "I guess, but then again, I don't know much about religious artifacts…"

Bruce would have questioned that statement, but decided to wait when Kaze took one of the memory stones in his hand and said, "Dark Heart."

Immediately, Bruce and Kaze were no longer standing in a dull, featureless room. They were in another world. The starless sky was an ominous violet color, and though they were standing, they could see the clouds below them. The only features of the place were several crumbling meteors falling from above and a mountain rising from the expanse of the horizon.

All of a sudden, Heartless appeared as three figures ran across the sky, with the air rippling beneath their feet like water as they ran.

The first noticeable figure was a red creature that looked something like a wolf and something like a lion, covered in scars and tattoos, with an upright red mane, gold anklets, and a flame sprouting from his tail. The beast fired off spell after spell, eradicating the shadows. Whatever Heartless managed to evade his spell casting were finished by his claws and fangs. Bruce remembered that Kaze called this creature his "Uncle" Nanaki.

The next was a mouse, a highly recognizable one. It was Walt, though his face had fewer lines, clothed in a royal blue outfit, with a poncho showing off an orange fleur-de-lis and a wide-brimmed feathered cap. Walt carried a shield, alongside a gigantic sword, as wide as he was and twice as long as he was tall. For even a human to lift, let alone wield, such a sword, would be a feat in and of itself. For the Walt, it was a miracle, and watching the mouse slice through the Heartless was both impressive and absurd.

The last figure was a human, a boy no older than Kaze was. He was clothed in a blue-green uniformed, outlined with a golden trim, and an olive vest. An emerald headband tried, rather unsuccessfully, to keep his black hair out of his face. He also wielded a Keyblade, though while Kaze's was white and had a distinct angelic theme, his was more esoteric, a rainbow of colors and a celestial theme to its craft.

"Two guesses who that is," Kaze said, "and the first two don't count."

"Why does your father's Keyblade look so different from yours?"

"It's a matter of the Keychain. That's what channels the power and shape of the weapon. His is the Dreamer's Eternity, the supreme magical Keyblade."

"And yours?"

"I don't know its name… when I got the Keychain, I was told, 'Take this symbol and fulfill your oath.' Probably, I could call this the… Oathkeeper, I guess."

Bruce nodded, as the figures entered the center of the "room", and the world seemed to follow them as they ran through the endless expanse. Before long, the trio came up on an athletic young woman, with blonde hair, surrounded by a throng of Heartless. In her hands was a Keyblade, though this Keyblade was black, with wicked curves, and it seemed to produce a black energy similar to the Heartless. While she was destroying the Heartless quite efficiently, she was severely outnumbered.

"Is… is that your mother?" Bruce asked.

Kaze nearly spat, "No. No it's not."

Without a second thought, Kaze Sr. and his team entered the fray, cutting a swath through the Heartless, and, within minutes, the field was clear and Kaze Sr. went up to the girl, hugging her, and yelling, "Koori! How'd… never mind that, are you all right?"

Koori smiled and rubbed his hair, "Just peachy, hotshot. Hope I can say the same for you…"

"We'll have to see won't we?" Kaze Sr. paused and looked towards the mountain, "This is it, isn't it? This is where all of it goes down. We face the king of the Heartless. We face their god, in the dark heart of the multiverse."

Nanaki sauntered up. "Do not worry so much. We have prevailed in the past."

"And we've failed, too. All those worlds… Simba, Mulan, Aurora, Stitch… we failed them…"

Walt shouldered his massive blade. "Well, we've come a long way from that. And as long as we're together, we'll be able to meet this thing head-on."

Kaze Sr. nodded. "And Hino's safe, back in Radiant Garden."

Koori laughed, "Ready to get this over with and get back to your girlfriend, huh?" Though she said this somewhat wistfully.

Kaze Sr. paused, then said, "Yeah…" Then, with renewed vigor, he charged back towards the mountain.

The charge, however, turned out to be unnecessary, as a gust of wind blew the four of them, including Kaze in mid-step, straight forward for several miles before depositing them in front of the mountain. As they fell to the strange sky-ground, a voice rumbled as the mountain began to crumble.

"**Keybearer. Guardian Beast. Mouse Prince. I commend you all for reaching this far. Truly, it has been an eternity since I had faced a threat that required my personal attention. Unfortunately, you are proving too much of a nuisance to allow for your continued existence…**"

The mountaintop exploded. From the molten core of the peak came a pair of enormous wings that enveloped the sky. Following the wings were the demonic creature, what looked like a man made of ebony, of living shadow, replete with pointed teeth and bull-like horns. The being never rose from waist height. He grinned madly at the four creatures below, looking like a small child about to crush ants.

"**Your journeys end here! Abandon all hope, for I am king of the night! I am Chernabog!**"

And with that, the creature swept his massive claw at the heroes, and only through quick scrambling did any of them survive. In retaliation, Kaze Sr. spun his Keyblade in his hands, as lightning crackled through it. He hurled the Keyblade like a boomerang at Chernabog, and its aim was true, striking Chernabog right between the eyes, causing the demon to reel back as the Keyblade returned to its owner.

"All right! We can hurt him!" Kaze cheered.

As he said this, Chernabog laughed, as he looked down, no real worse for wear, "**Yes, little one, you can hurt me. Whether that's enough for you to stop me…**" and with that, he formed a ball of flame in his hands and threw it down.

What followed was a battle like a swarm of mosquitoes against a grown man. Any and all attacks were useless, until finally, Chernabog got a hold of one of them, Koori.

Rather than crush her as all expected him to, instead, he took his other hand and, using it, made her rise, and then dance. Kaze Sr. sent the Keyblade rocketing towards his hand, but Chernabog swatted it away.

"**Ah yes, little one, I know well of you. The one who craved the power to change her situation, who took a mockery of the weapon that can destroy my minions. You may have fought my underlings and prevailed, but you fail to see that in doing so, you have made me grow stronger… You see, little girl…**" Chernabog smiled wickedly. "**That Keyblade of yours doesn't come from your own soul, like your boyfriend's does, it comes from mine…**"

And, laughing maniacally, he set Koori aflame and sent her careening to the ground.

"KOORI!" Kaze Sr. yelled, as he cast a water spell around the girl, choking the flames and leaving her alive, but wounded. "Trinity Arrow!" he yelled as his weapon glowed white and he rocketed straight towards her, catching her in his arms and offering her an Elixir. As he landed, Nanaki and Walt running beside him, Koori whispered.

"It's me… he's gaining power from me, from all my actions…"

"It's all right, Koori. You didn't know."

"I want him stopped, Kaze. Please… do whatever it takes. I'm worthless here. You can stop him, avenge the death of our world, and end this plague. Please, stop him."

Kaze Sr. looked at the demon, and the giant ball of flame in his hand, growing in power and might and illuminating the shadows of his wings. He began to cry.

"I love you…" Kaze said.

And then he plunged his Keyblade into Koori's heart.

Chernabog continued to laugh, but suddenly, he stopped, and the flare in his hands dissipated. From the peak of the mountain, he could see a flash of light at the base.

The sound of a church bell rang, causing Chernabog to start.

Another ring, this time accompanied by a flash of green light, and Chernabog cringed.

Over and over, the bells rang out, lights flashing as Chernabog screamed in agony, before the bells were accompanied by Kaze rocketing upwards like a comet, followed closely by Walt and Nanaki. The three of them, now flying in a way that reminded Bruce of Superman, flew into Chernabog. Keyblade and sword and claw met the demon's flesh, and now, the blows were landing not like pinpricks but as if they were weapons of his size.

Finally, Chernabog slumped forward, unmoving, as Kaze, Walt, and Nanaki all circled Chernabog, as a strange mystical transmutation circle formed out of light from each of the warriors, binding Chernabog in place.

Once the circle was formed, Kaze went to Chernabog and stuck the Keyblade in his forehead. As the demon impotently cried, Kaze yelled, this time addressing the Keyblade itself, "You're supposed to be the key to all existence. You're supposed to be able to open any lock and lock any door. Well, if you're half as good as you say you are, then LOCK THIS BASTARD UP!"

The Keyblade seemed to wink, and began to glow. Kaze flew back down to his place in the circle, held out his arms and the three warriors yelled as one, "TRINITY LIMIT!"

And, glowing with green light, Chernabog writhed in pain. His wings shuddering before closing up on him like a cocoon, before the wings hardened and turned to rock, reforming the top of the mountain.

Kaze looked amazingly tired as he sank back down to the ground. He had won; he had accomplished that which he had sought for so very long.

And yet, he did not feel like celebrating.

Staggering, he went to Koori's body. He hugged her, ignoring the blood that stained his green clothes a murky brown, and wept.

Around him, the world shifted and twisted, with eerie glowing and storms of lightning and comets. The crumbling land around them was flowing both up and down. Walt and Nanaki decided to interrupt the boy's mourning.

"Kaze, we have to go…" Nanaki said.

Kaze shook his head.

"Come on, Kaze! If we hurry, we can make it back to the Gummi ship. Maybe we can even heal…"

"NO! I can't go back… I don't care. I don't care anymore. I don't care what I have to leave behind, everything if need be. I'm not going back."

"Kaze, you can't mean that…" Walt said.

"Go… you'll be able to survive."

"Kaze, think what you will lose if you don't…" Nanaki said.

"Go."

"What about rebuilding Radiant Garden?" Walt said.

"Go."

"You said you'd help revive the worlds!" Walt cried.

"Go."

"You know you can do it. Simba and Mulan and Stitch and everyone else will have their homes back, if you just try and…" Walt shook Kaze.

"Go!" Kaze cried, more forcefully.

"What about Hino?" Nanaki interjected, bringing his face to Kaze's, "You said you loved her. You said you'd stay with her…" Nanaki looked pained to say this, as if he were breaking a promise, "She has told us… she does not know for certain, but there's a possibility that she is with child…"

Kaze trembled with rage or sorrow, it was unclear which. "GO!" and with that, a gust of wind hit Walt and Nanaki, sending them careening backwards.

And, with that, the world faded to black.

And, suddenly, Bruce was back in the blank room, in front of the Kaze he knew, the one dressed in silver and gold instead of green, with short bangs and a ponytail instead of wilting spikes. He placed the memory stone back on the pedestal.

"That's why I hate him, Bruce. He had the ability to leave, knew that he was leaving behind a woman that loved him, a child that might have loved him, and still he put himself, his own concerns over ours. And those of the worlds he lost. Those he claimed to be his friends, whose worlds were lost because of his own insecurity, they remain in the slumber of the dark, maybe forever, because of his selfishness. And even now, they hail him as a hero, a savior, when, at the moment when everything fell to pieces and only he could pick them up, he gave it all up and let himself be consumed when he could have saved himself. He threw in the towel, abandoned me and my mother, shattered her life, and then left me this Keyblade, for me to pick up his trash. That's why I hate him." And, with that, Kaze walked out of the room.

Bruce paused, then muttered, "With that kind of exit, he should get a chance in the Batsuit…" before following him out

----------------------------------------------------

Fauntleroy, the duck who was the librarian for Disney Castle, laid out several star charts in the under-used war room. Bruce, Kaze, and Walt leaned over them, trying to locate Gotham.

"You say the Heartless ship crashed on your world while on-course somewhere?" Fauntleroy asked. It took a little while to understand what he said, but Bruce nodded.

"Yeah. Green Lantern found the coordinates and tried to copy them into his datapad, but it opened up a wormhole that sucked me through."

"I found him in the remains of Midgar," Kaze said, checking the space around that world. "So if the Gummi ship was headed there, Gotham must be close by."

"Not necessarily," Walt said, and Bruce looked at him with a feeling of dread. "We've been boosting our warp drives to take us farther through time and space. The worlds Kaze's father, Nanaki, and I visited were fairly close together. The new warp drive system would make it possible to visit the more distant worlds, but it would still take a long time to reach them until our technology advances."

"So that Heartless might have been traveling for years before finally reaching my world?" Bruce asked. Walt nodded. "Great."

"Well, we have to go to Traverse Town anyway, so there's always a chance that someone there's heard of your world," Kaze suggested.

"When you do find it, add it to this journal," Fauntleroy said, handing Bruce a small leather-bound book. "That way, we can add it to our charts and Gummi ship navigation."

"Record it for your world too," Walt added. "You said your Justice League has a massive archive. They'd probably want to know about the other worlds too."

"I thought that'd be breaking the rules, Uncle Walt," Kaze said. Walt shrugged.

"From what he's said, Bruce's world has already contacted other worlds. This probably won't come as any surprise."

---------------------------------------------------

The next day, after stocking up on Hi-Potions and Elixirs, Kaze and Bruce got in the Gummi ship and took off. While Kaze piloted, Bruce took out the journal and started writing everything he'd seen in Disney Castle, along with short descriptions of Midgar and the Heartless.

"Hey, Bruce," Kaze said suddenly, making him look up from his writing. "We'll find an Accessory Shop when we get there, but first, I want to visit my friend Marlene. She works at a hospital/tavern in First District. Her dad and their friend Rosa run it. They'll want to see me before we do anything."

"Okay."

"You'll probably like them. Barret's a bit rough, but Rosa's really nice. Then there's Denzel, but you two should probably get along. And Marlene's probably the only person in the world who doesn't compare me to my dad. She prefers to see people for who they are."

"All right."

"Don't worry. We'll find your world. It may take some time, but you'll get home."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Kaze glanced at him. "That Heartless ship crashed on my world and killed about a dozen people by turning them into Heartless. We took care of them, but what if that's not the end of them? What if more come?" Bruce sighed and closed his journal. "The rest of the League was halfway around the world in Chong-Mai when it happened, so there were only four of us fighting. If Kai hadn't figured out how to defeat them, we all would have died, and Metropolis would have been the first to fall."

Kaze blinked. "You seem kind of young to be thinking of these kinds of things. How old are you?"

"I just turned seventeen a few weeks ago."

"What?" Kaze cried, nearly steering the ship off-course. He corrected himself before saying, "I'm seventeen too, but I didn't expect you to be the same age. Damn, I thought you were eighteen or nineteen at least."

"'Cause I'm fighting evil all the time?" Bruce guessed. "Most people don't expect me to be this age. My dad was sixteen when he started."

"Why so young?"

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "I think you're hardly in a position to talk."

"Point."

"Well, for my dad, it was because his dad, Warren McGinnis, died. He stole the suit and tried to avenge his death. For me, it's just because I've been training so much. About four months ago, Dad decided that I was ready to try patrolling. He just never expected me to push myself so hard to prove I was capable."

"You're pretty messed up, you know that?"

"So I've heard—from my own brother and sister. Wish I hadn't fought with them before I left, though."

"You'll get your chance to apologize. We'll be at Traverse Town soon enough, so cheer up."

"I'm Batman. That'll take an act of God."

"Heh," Kaze laughed. "Guess this is going to be one long trip."


End file.
